Is ’30 Rock’ Racist?

30 Rock promo shot

It’s gotta be, right? Just look at all that bling on Tracey Jordan.

Almost as fun as watching 30 Rock is watching liberals laugh and then think (out loud on their blogs): “Does laughing at the antics of Tracy Morgan make me racist? This might be, at best, a guilty pleasure, and perhaps I shouldn’t be enjoying it. Because, well,real racistsmight enjoy these jokes, too.”

That’s not a direct quote of Philly-based blogger Isaiah Thompson, but close enough. He raises the question of whether we really should be laughing at the jokes and story lines of two of America’s most celebrated and successful television comedies: 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Thompson writes:

See? I said I was close enough. To be fair, Thompson backs off from that question later in his brief blog post:

But I don’t really buy it. And yeah, I’m the [expletive] who’s ruining the joke by talking about it: but of the many things that make Curb and 30 Rock hilarious, I gotta say: black people playing crazy black people doesn’t top my list.

So … Thompson apparently feels so much guilt about the prospect of laughing at “black people playing crazy black people,” he’s moved the Tracy Jordan character off the list of reasons 30 Rock is “hilarious.” Me? I start laughing justlookingat the great characterTracy Morgan createdfor30 Rock. I start cracking up during the opening credits.

To the extent that 30 Rock has an attitude toward race—and isn’t simply finding jokes where it can—it’s a wry commentary, I think, on “post-racial” America, a country filled with people, like Liz Lemon, whose good intentions are sometimes at war with their darker impulses and the whole thing can simply be very, very uncomfortable. It’s tricky ground to mine for laughs; I think 30 Rock does a pretty good job of it.

I’d replace “darker impulses” with “human impulses,” but Mathis’ take is sound. If we truly are in a “post-racial America,” it should be OK to laugh, right? 30 Rock is only treading on “tricky ground” because of the political correctness culture that has consumed Hollywood for at least 30 years. The great irony is that two classic, incredibly funny sitcoms—All in the FamilyandThe Jeffersons—were created by arguably the most influential liberal in televised Hollywood, Norman Lear. And, yeah. My racist father (certainly racist by today’s standards) and racists across the country in the ’70s laughed it up at Archie’s antics.

Perhaps that’s why for so long race has been so off limits for TV laughs. Writers were afraid to “comfort” those who didn’t laugh at Archie, but laughed with him—at least a little too much for comfort. Despite the brilliant comedy to be found of All in the Family—not to mention the liberal social commentary Lear applied with a sledgehammer—it just wasn’t worth it if some people laughed for the wrong reasons.

I find it incredibly refreshing the way30 RockandThe Officeare not afraid to not just dip their toes into the racial joke pool but at times do a cannonball in the deep end. The“Diversity Day”episode ofThe Office, the second episode of the first season, is a genuine classic. I think I’ve seen it at least a dozen times, and it still makes me laugh my head off. I remember the first time I saw it. I turned to my wife and said: “I can’t believe they had the courage to do that. It’s taboo. I hope they don’t get in trouble.”

That episode of The Office really was ground-breaking (or ground-rebreaking), and it’s a credit to the creative team behind the show that they’ve regularly attempted to find humor by bursting the bubble of racial political correctness. The target of parody on The Office in such episodes is not just Michael Scott’s unenlightened racial views, but the decades of PC racial “enlightenment” that has been inflicted on America. We are currently enjoying—or at least I am—an era in television comedy where writers trust and respect their audience to laugh at racism without fear of perpetuating racism. Such a mindset was always an insult to the intelligence of the audience. Good riddance.

Kvetching about whether the Tracy Jordan character’s stupidity somehow perpetuates “racial stereotypes” is for the birds. But I’d take this line of argument more seriously if there were a smidgen of concern about the negative stereotypes of Southern folk inherent in the Kenneth Parcell character on 30 Rock. But, again, kvetching about that is also for the birds. I think the stereotype-driven jokes about Kenneth are hilarious, too.

Good comedy writing is about focusing—without fear—on what’s funny. Period. The fact that some liberal commentators are still weighing political correctness and enforced “sensitivity” versus getting a laugh is proof that some of us are not yet embracing the new “post-racial America.” At least not yet.

—Jim Lakely

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razatta ralph

“laugh at racism without perpetuating it” hahahahaha. What about the open hostility towards south asians? Remember Jim, you are white, which means you are a racist pussy who has “without fear” never experienced prejudice in your entire life, cunt. I actually like white people who are nice to me, but it is getting to be a rarer occasion, so let me remind you that raped the entire colored world, and Jim, you are a spoiled white cunt. Let’s talk Nietzsche you moron, are you afraid of logic because you’re stupid? I’ve noticed stupid white people like to use their social standing to intimidate smarter darker skinned adversaries

razatta ralph

See, the reason why Jim Lakely is an idiot is than he doesn’t see the fact that for every kenneth, there is a Jack Danaghy if you’re white. But if you’re black or south asian, there’s toofur or jonathan

the people who feel that 30 Rock singles out any one specific race for ‘humour’ is missing the fact that 30 Rock is satirical comedy and no one is spared. It’s an astute observation on life in Manhattan in this day and age. Liz Lemon is a stereotype….white liberal woman in her late 30’s living on junk food, failing in relationships a step away from crazy cat lady…Jenna, blonde bimbo no intelligence, Frank, Lutz, fat lazy white guys no one respects, Kenneth, white southern ‘trash’ hillbilly hick. These sort of conversations are so boring….enjoy the jokes…and live your life.. 🙂
Oh and Lauren, god forbid the slave drivers have an opinion or observation.

Lauren

This is a relatively reasonable perspective until you consider the fact that the only people who think our society is remotely “post-racial” are white.